This wasn't an exaggeration on Uchiha Ren's part.
At present, there were no Six Paths–level shinobi in the world.
Once Might Duy opened the Eighth Gate of Death of the Eight Gates Technique, the saying held true:
"Below Six Paths, I am invincible. Above Six Paths, we trade one for one."
If that didn't count as the strongest in the shinobi world, what did?
"Ren, get some rest. Leave the rest to us!"
Might Duy flashed a wide grin and gave him a thumbs-up.
As his voice fell, a series of sharp whooshing sounds cut through the air.
Figures rapidly appeared around Ren, surrounding him in a protective circle.
These were all Konoha shinobi.
Among them, the most eye-catching was a silver-haired youth carrying a short blade and wearing a mask—
Kakashi Hatake , the famous "Copy Ninja" who could go fifty-fifty with anyone.
"Retreat! Konoha reinforcements have arrived!"
The surrounding Iwagakure shinobi had already begun clashing with Konoha's forces. But as more and more Konoha ninja arrived, the Iwa shinobi quickly abandoned the fight and began withdrawing.
Although Han was unwilling to retreat, after exchanging several blows with Might Duy and failing to gain the upper hand, he realized that this "bowl-cut ninja" was anything but ordinary.
To avoid being encircled by Konoha, Han pulled back and began retreating as well.
The Konoha shinobi did not pursue aggressively.
Their objective had simply been to drive away the Iwagakure forces and rescue Uchiha Ren.
For one thing, this group was only the vanguard of the reinforcement army, and their numbers were not much greater than the Iwa shinobi.
Secondly, the enemy side still had a jinchūriki.
If pushed too far, the consequences would be disastrous for Konoha as well.
Leaning against a tree, Ren looked toward Kakashi Hatake , who stood guard nearby.
"How did you end up here? How many of you came?"
Kakashi kept a vigilant watch on the surroundings as he answered.
"Our reinforcement unit was assembled on short notice. There are 1,034 of us in total, led by Captain Hiashi Hyūga ."
"Last night, after receiving a message from Captain Hizashi, Captain Hiashi immediately redirected our force toward Kikyō Mountain."
"But since our numbers are large and the strength of the troops varies greatly, we only managed to reach this area not long ago."
"Then we saw the Tailed Beast Bomb explosion, and Captain Hiashi also noticed your situation."
"So he split off two hundred elite shinobi to rush here as the vanguard, while he brings the rest of the force behind us."
Hearing this, Ren let out a quiet breath of relief.
With Hiashi's thousand troops, Konoha now had around 2,500 shinobi in total.
Although they were still outnumbered, it would at least be enough to deter Iwagakure from launching an immediate attack.
If Konoha had only 1,000 defenders at Kikyō Mountain, then Iwagakure's 5,000 troops would hold a five-to-one advantage.
Under those conditions, the Iwa commander would almost certainly attempt to decide the battle in a single assault.
But if Konoha's numbers rose to 2,500, Iwagakure might still hold the advantage—but capturing the fortress would cost them heavy casualties.
If this operation had been conducted solely by Iwagakure, that might have been acceptable.
But this time it was a joint operation between Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure.
Naturally, Iwagakure wouldn't want to bear all the losses while Sunagakure and Kumogakure reaped the rewards.
Therefore, the best option for the Iwa army was to rest in place and wait for the Sunagakure and Kumogakure forces to arrive.
Although that would allow Konoha's defenders inside Kikyō Mountain to receive further reinforcements, the enemy coalition would still maintain their numerical advantage, while the risks would be shared among the three villages.
The logical choice was obvious.
After some time passed, and once it was confirmed that the Iwagakure vanguard had completely withdrawn, the Konoha shinobi regrouped and assembled together.
Might Duy returned to Ren's side and bent down slightly.
"Ren, do you want me to carry you back?"
His expression was sincere—he was genuinely worried about Ren's condition.
But Ren simply couldn't accept that.
He quickly stood up and waved his hands.
"No need. I'm not injured. I just used up a lot of chakra. I've already recovered a bit."
Carrying wounded comrades on the battlefield was perfectly normal.
But for some reason, whenever it involved the Might father-and-son duo, Ren felt something was… off.
Although Ren thought highly of Might Duy, he had no intention of developing the kind of overly passionate friendship that Might Guy and Kakashi would later share.
After waiting a little longer, Hiashi Hyūga finally arrived with the main force.
There were no greetings or formalities.
Once the forces merged, they immediately returned to Kikyō Mountain Fortress.
Along the way, they encountered units sent by Hizashi Hyūga and Mimura Yōhaku to receive them.
After another round of coordination and deployment, everyone finally returned to the fortress.
Once defensive positions were assigned, Uchiha Ren, Hiashi Hyūga , Hizashi Hyūga, Mimura Yōhaku , Might Duy, and Kakashi Hatake gathered in a room inside the fortress for a brief strategy meeting.
Hizashi spoke first.
"Our scouting teams have confirmed that Iwagakure's main army has set up camp on a hill about thirty kilometers away."
"The remaining Kumogakure forces—around a thousand survivors—have already joined them."
"For now, they don't appear to be preparing an attack."
Mimura Yōhaku added,
"They're most likely waiting for Sunagakure's forces."
"And although we've been moving continuously without rest, their situation isn't much different."
"They'll probably rest tonight and launch a full-scale offensive tomorrow."
Hiashi Hyūga continued,
"According to information from the village, Namikaze Minato and Shikaku Nara are leading two thousand troops and should arrive in about one hour."
"As for Orochimaru…"
Hiashi paused slightly, frowning.
"The village didn't mention any updates regarding Orochimaru or the two thousand troops under his command, but they should arrive within a few hours at most."
Ren rubbed his temples.
"If Minato and Shikaku are personally leading the forces, then the command of this battle will probably be handed over to them."
"That's good."
"We can finally get some proper rest."
Everyone present revealed expressions of exhaustion.
Most of them had been fighting or marching since yesterday without stopping.
They were truly exhausted.
Ren continued,
"But before Minato and Shikaku arrive, we still can't relax."
"Have the men hold their positions a little longer. Once the reinforcements arrive and rotations begin, everyone can rest properly."
"Also, send out more reconnaissance teams."
"We must keep Iwagakure and Kumogakure under constant surveillance."
"And gather intelligence on Sunagakure's movements as soon as possible."
Everyone in the room had experienced war before.
They all understood that moments like this were precisely when vigilance mattered most.
So they nodded in agreement.
At this point, aside from maintaining strict defenses, the only thing they could do was wait patiently.
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